Platform for continued use of existing software for the actuation of industrial field devices

ABSTRACT

A platform for actuation of at least one industrial field device in an industrial installation having control software includes: an execution environment, in which the control software is runnable; and an external interface for communicating between the control software and the at least one industrial field device. The execution environment has virtual hardware which, from a point of view of the control software, behaves in a manner of the at least one industrial field device. A switching unit is connected between the virtual hardware and the external interface. The switching unit bidirectionally translates data, interchanged between the control software and the virtual hardware, for communication with the at least one industrial field device via the external interface.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO PRIOR APPLICATION

This application is a continuation of International Patent ApplicationNo. PCT/EP2017/068279, filed on Jul. 19, 2017, which claims priority toEuropean Patent Application No. EP 16180179.0, filed on Jul. 19, 2016.The entire disclosure of both applications is hereby incorporated byreference herein.

FIELD

The invention relates to the field of programmable logic controllers foractuating industrial field devices.

BACKGROUND

Programmable logic controllers (PLC's) or other automation technologycontrol units are used for monitoring and controlling many industrialprocesses. Such devices are specialized computers running softwarespecifically developed for the respectively actuated or monitored fielddevice. In part, the software is even specific to the industrialinstallation in which the field device is used.

The software is closely interwoven with the operating system andhardware drivers of the control unit on which it runs, because all datacommunicated from or to the field device must pass the control unit.This has the consequence that exchanging the control unit for anothermodel or a substantial change to the communication system (for example,I/O system, fieldbus, or other network) between the control unit and thefield device in each case necessitates manual adaptation of thesoftware. In this respect, it must be ensured that the software stillhas the same functionality as before, even after the adaptation.Especially in safety-relevant applications, all changes are subject tomandatory testing. The effort required for this purpose can cause highercosts than the actual hardware exchange. The advantages that can beachieved with the modernization of an industrial control system aresoured by this additional expenditure. It is, correspondingly, difficultto sell such modernization to the user.

From U.S. Pat. No. 5,307,346 A is known an interface thatbidirectionally translates a unified communication protocol used in anetwork of an industrial installation, such as the manufacturingautomation protocol (MAP), into various communication standards foractuating field devices. Changes in the network between this interfaceand the field device may be masked with respect to the control softwarethat still addresses the interface via MAP. The binding of the controlsoftware to the hardware of the control unit remains unaffected thereby.

SUMMARY

In an embodiment, the present invention provides a platform foractuation of at least one industrial field device in an industrialinstallation having control software, comprising: an executionenvironment, in which the control software is runnable; and an externalinterface configured to communicate between the control software and theat least one industrial field device, wherein the execution environmenthas virtual hardware which, from a point of view of the controlsoftware, behaves in a manner of the at least one industrial fielddevice, and wherein a switching unit is connected between the virtualhardware and the external interface, the switching unit being configuredto bidirectionally translate data, interchanged between the controlsoftware and the virtual hardware, for communication with the at leastone industrial field device via the external interface.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention will be described in even greater detail belowbased on the exemplary figures. The invention is not limited to theexemplary embodiments. Other features and advantages of variousembodiments of the present invention will become apparent by reading thefollowing detailed description with reference to the attached drawingswhich illustrate the following:

FIG. 1: Industrial installation 100 with platform 1 according to theinvention.

FIG. 2: Control unit 105 according to the prior art, for comparison.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

It is therefore the aim of the invention to allow continued use of theexisting control software without adaptations, even after a change inthe hardware of the control unit via which the field device is actuated.

This aim is achieved according to the invention by a platform asdescribed herein and by an associated computer program product.

Within the framework of the invention, a platform for actuating at leastone industrial field device in an industrial installation with controlsoftware was developed. This platform comprises an executionenvironment, in which the control software can run, and an externalinterface for communication between the control software and the fielddevice.

According to the invention, the execution environment has virtualhardware that, from the point of view of the control software, behavesin the manner of the field device. A switching unit is connected betweenthe virtual hardware and the external interface. This switching unit isconfigured to bidirectionally translate data, interchanged between thecontrol software and the virtual hardware, for communication with thefield device via the external interface. In this case, the switchingunit is generally not a simpler protocol adapter with a 1:1 translation,but takes into account the semantic meaning of the data fields in thelanguage spoken between the virtual hardware and the control software onthe one hand, and in the language spoken via the external interface onthe other.

For example, the execution environment may provide a virtualizedoperating system corresponding to the operating system for which thecontrol software was developed. Control software compiled as binary codefor a particular control unit can then be executed without modificationin the execution environment. Alternatively or in combination, theexecution environment may provide program libraries (API's) which newlyimplement the semantics of the language in which the control softwarewas originally written, i.e., in the event of a function call from thecontrol software, perform exactly the function which is executed on theoriginal platform in case of this function call. For example, theexecution environment may also provide an interpreter for an interpreterlanguage in which the control software is written. This interpreter canthen execute control software present in the form of source text and, tothis extent, implement the interpreter language. The executionenvironment can, in particular, be realized as a portable softwarecomponent. The control software may consist of several control programsor control loops.

The virtual hardware is specific to the field device to be actuated bythe control software. It can be present, for example, as a device driverin the virtualized operating system.

It was realized that the platform according to the invention decouplesthe control logic, which is contained in the control software andspecific to the particular application, from the hardware of the controlunit and from the type of network connection to the field device. Alladaptations to the hardware of the control unit can be combined in theexecution environment. All adaptations with respect to the networkconnection to the field device can be combined in the switching unit.Thus, if the control software is to be migrated with unchanged functionto new hardware, or the field device is to be connected via a differenttype of network, it is no longer necessary, in contrast to the priorart, to change a monolithic program in which the actual control logic ismixed with hardware and network access instructions. Instead, only theexecution environment and/or the switching unit must be adapted in eachcase.

These adaptations also require effort. However, it was realized thatthis effort is significantly reduced by the modular structure accordingto the invention, since, in particular, the tests required in each casebecome more manageable. It was furthermore realized that suchadaptations are generic, i.e., can often be reused for other projects:The execution environment is initially only specific to the type ofcontrol unit for which the control software was written. Ideally, onlythe virtual hardware contained therein, which may, for example, bepresent as a driver, is specific to the actuated field device. Theswitching unit can, in turn, be specific to the combination of aspecifically actuated field device and a communication standard used forconnection via the external interface, but is independent of the type ofcontrol unit for which the control software was written. Thus, a kitwith prefabricated elements can be created, from which, for the specificcase of an application where specific control software shall continue tobe used for a specific field device on a specific type of control unit,the solution can be assembled in each case.

The adaptation of control software to a new control unit thus ultimatelychanges from a very labor-intensive and error-prone individualproduction to a multi-purpose abstract tool, which can accordingly alsobe sold separately as a product or as a service.

In each specific application, the invention in turn significantlyreduces the costs for the migration of control software from one controlunit to another and for changes in the network connection to the fielddevice.

This even makes it economical in many cases to perform such amigration—for instance, to a new version of the control system.According to the prior art, the effort for the migration of the controlsoftware was a great obstacle to such migrations, especially since theadaptation of the control software often required knowledge that onlyexisted in the user himself and could therefore not be purchased, oronly be purchased to a limited extent as external service. On the onehand, additional functionality can be gained by migrating to a newcontrol unit. On the other hand, maintenance costs for obsolete controlunits can be saved.

Industrial control systems are typically projected to have a life spanof several decades. Not every manufacturer of control units guaranteesavailability of devices of the same type in case of defects over suchlong periods of time. According to the prior art, such a defect couldimpose on the user the need to adapt the control software to a newcontrol unit from one day to the next. This was partially circumventedby purchasing an obsolete control unit from remainders of stock or evenon the second-hand market at an inflated price. In the case of suchdefects, the invention makes it possible to integrate the currentmainstream control unit into the existing control system at asignificantly better cost-benefit ratio.

Within an industrial installation, the invention makes it possible tostandardize the hardware for control units and to thus reduce the costsfor procurement and maintenance.

In a particularly advantageous embodiment of the invention, theexecution environment comprises a virtual machine, which in turn runs onhardware in a manner mediated by an operating system. This makes itpossible to operate several such virtual machines side-by-side, even onone and the same hardware, and to thus consolidate, for example, severalcontrol units into a powerful industrial PC. Furthermore, such machinescan be monitored, stopped, started, or reconfigured in a simple mannervia a management layer. Ultimately, a virtual machine also offersmaximum flexibility with regard to the control software running therein.For example, the control software may be dependent upon particular oldsystem software which, in turn, no longer runs on current control unitsdue to lack of hardware drivers. In a virtual machine, the old systemsoftware may still be used.

The virtual hardware, the switching unit, and/or the virtual machineadvantageously interact with the operating system via an additionalabstraction layer. All adaptations that become necessary when usingdifferent operating systems can then be bundled in this abstractionlayer. It then becomes easier to provide the platform for differentoperating systems on different hardware architectures. The adaptationsto be performed in the abstraction layer are more comprehensible thancorresponding adaptations directly in the virtual hardware, in theswitching unit, and/or in the virtual machine, where the accesses to theoperating system to be changed are each mixed with instructions for theinternal logic of the respective component.

The execution environment may, for example, be designed to executecontrol software, which is present in a standardized language accordingto IEC 61131-3 or in a proprietary control program language—inparticular, ASEA Master Programming Language or Taylor Control Language.The support for further control program languages can be addedabstractly by appropriate adaptation of the execution environment,without specific control software having to be present for this purpose.

In a further, particularly advantageous embodiment of the invention, anadditional gateway is provided, which is connected via a first interfaceto the external interface, and via a second interface to the fielddevice. In this way, the communication standard with which the fielddevices are directly addressed can be decoupled from the communicationstandard which is used as standard in the network of the industrialinstallation, for example. Accordingly, physical wirings to the fielddevices can continue to be used without modification, for example, whileat the same time the network of the industrial installation is upgradedto a new standard. If the type of connection of a field device changes,e.g., if it is changed from a physical I/O interface to a fieldbus, allnecessary adaptations may be combined in the gateway. The externalinterface, the execution environment, and the switching unit may remainunchanged. The control unit communicates with the field device, and thuswith the process to be controlled or monitored, via a uniform,configurable data model which it shares with the gateway.

The additional gateway is thus a logical continuation of the basic ideaof the invention that a change at one point in the industrial controlsystem is to entail adaptations only at as few, precisely defined pointsas possible and that, at these points, there should be a minimum amountof other program code which relates to other functionalities and shouldremain unchanged.

Accordingly, the gateway is advantageously designed to bidirectionallytranslate between a communication standard of the external interface onthe one hand, and a communication standard of the field device on theother.

In particular, the gateway can carry out the continuously repeatingsampling of the measured data obtained by the field device, which washitherto carried out by the control unit. The control unit is relievedin this respect; it only has to read in data queued for processing(copy-in) and transmit outputs generated by the control program(copy-out). The gateway can process the data transmitted to the externalinterface and, in particular, compact them, so that the transmission ofthe data does not generate more network load than necessary. Forexample, the gateway may be given a rate at which it is to deliver datato the external interface, independently of its internal sampling rate.The switching unit translates the data packets arriving from theexternal interface into values which the control software in the copy-inphase makes available for further processing. Conversely, in thecopy-out phase, the switching unit receives data from the controlsoftware and transmits them via the external interface to the gateway atthe next possible point in time. The gateway, lastly, forwards thesedata to the field device.

For this purpose, the gateway can, for example, be equipped with amicroprocessor-based computer system and corresponding software. Theinterface for communication with the field device can be designed, forexample, as dedicated hardware, e.g., as a field-programmable gate array(FPGA) or as an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) whichimplements a fieldbus protocol.

Advantageously, the first interface and the external interface areconnected via a network to a shared communication medium. Such a networkcan, for example, be an Ethernet network. Connections between severalsubscribers in these networks are typically logical connections that donot break off immediately when one of the subscribers is physicallydisconnected from the network. For example, the gateway, the externalinterface, the field device, or other components can thus be changedwithout the controlled industrial process necessarily coming to astandstill. The process must only be able to manage the fact that nodata flow for a short period of time.

The gateway can be equipped with further functionalities for dataanalysis, which are otherwise usually carried out by control units. Inthis way, these functionalities can be added to the existing processwithout, from the point of view of the existing control software, achange taking place. For example, processed data can be forwarded viathe network to other locations in the industrial installation.

The introduction of the gateway facilitates later extensions of theindustrial control system. Both the network between the gateway and theexternal interface, and the network between the gateway and the fielddevice, can be replaced and extended, without the industrial processhaving to come to a standstill.

In a further advantageous embodiment of the invention, the gateway isadditionally designed to monitor at least one measured value determinedby the field device and to communicate an event via the network when themeasured value meets a predetermined criterion. In this way, an errorhandling can, for example, be implemented in the control software,independently of the actual control logic. For example, monitoringcertain range limits can subsequently be added in this way, even if theassociated control program is present only as non-editable binary code.

Particularly in new developments of control software, a modularizationcan, furthermore, take place to the effect that protective functionswhich are essential for safety and which are independent of the actualcontrol logic are moved to the gateway. In the control software on thecontrol unit, the program code relating to the protective functions isno longer mixed with program code relating to the control logic freelyselectable by the user. Each segregation of program code relating todifferent functions improves its maintainability and reduces the risk ofadaptations relating to one function undesirably affecting otherfunctions.

The gateway can, in particular, be designed to bidirectionallycommunicate with a human-machine interface (HMI) via the network. Inthis way, the gateway can be configured directly via the human-machineinterface. Furthermore, a clear separation between the automated controlby the control unit on the one hand, and manual operation via thehuman-machine interface on the other, can be realized, i.e., the manualoperation does not have to resort to the control unit. When the controlunit fails, the process thus continues to be, at least rudimentarily,manually controllable. Even a short period required to change a controlunit can be bridged by manual operation.

In a particularly advantageous embodiment of the invention, the gatewayis an automation technology control unit designed as a gateway bymodifying the firmware to its specific functionality. For example, thecontrol unit offered by the applicant under the name, “AC 800 M,” can beused for this purpose. For example, the control unit can receive datafrom the field device in its usual manner, although it then no longerprocesses them itself, but rather forwards them via the network to theexternal interface of a further control unit.

On the other hand, the advantages provided by the gateway also do notrequire that the gateway be spaced apart from the hardware of thecontrol unit. Both components can be implemented to be functionallyseparate on the same hardware platform, and thus form a new modularcontrol unit. In a particularly advantageous embodiment of theinvention, the execution environment and the gateway mediated by thesame operating system therefore run on the same hardware. For example,the gateway and the execution environment may be realized as separatevirtual machines. Both functions can then also be managed equally viathe associated management system. In this respect, the term, “externalinterface,” does not imply that a connection to a gateway designed as aseparate device is necessarily established via the network, but onlythat the logical functional group of the execution environment in whichthe control software runs is exited.

The hardware is, advantageously, an automation technology control unit,a programmable logic controller or, in particular, an industrial PC. Incomparison to a control unit or a PLC, an industrial PC is typicallyequipped with substantially more computing power and memory. Bothresources are significantly less expensive on an industrial PC than on acontrol unit or on a PLC. Furthermore, a plurality of operating systemsand solutions for the creation of virtual machines are available on themarket for an industrial PC as host system. For example, it maytherefore also be worthwhile to consolidate in an industrial PC severalcontrol units with software written for completely different hardwareplatforms. For certain applications, such as training, simulation, orcontrolling less time-critical operations, a desktop PC, a server, or asmartphone or tablet PC may also be used as hardware.

If a control unit or a PLC is used as hardware, the capacity of thiscontrol unit can, for example, be increased beyond its original design.For example, by offloading the communication with the field device tothe gateway, memory and/or computing power on the control unit can befreed, which can be used for larger and/or more complex controlsoftware. Furthermore, the gateway may provide more interfaces forcommunication. The invention therefore also has advantages when the useris not interested in the exchange of existing control units at all, butmerely wants to extend their functionality.

In a particularly advantageous embodiment of the invention, theoperating system, by the mediation of which the virtual machine runs onthe hardware, is real-time-capable. In this way, despite thevirtualization, response times can be guaranteed, as was possible withthe direct execution of the control software on the hardware of thecontrol unit. Advantageously, the network connecting the externalinterface to the gateway, and the gateway itself, including itsinterfaces, are also real-time-capable.

The execution environment—in particular, a virtual machine or virtualhardware—the switching unit, the external interface, as well as thegateway, including the interfaces contained therein, may, in particular,be implemented in the form of software and/or hardware, which is aproduct that can be sold independently. In light of the above, theinvention therefore also relates to a computer program product havingmachine-readable instructions, which, if executed on a computer, acontrol unit, or other hardware, give the computer, the control unit, orthe other hardware the functionality of a platform according to theinvention and/or the functionality of a gateway contained therein in thesense of the descriptions above.

FIG. 1 shows, by way of example, an industrial installation 100 in whichan industrial field device 101 is controlled via a platform 1 accordingto the invention. On an industrial PC 30, an operating system 33 runswith an abstraction layer 34, which provides generic system calls to theswitching unit 5 and the virtual machine 32 independently of thespecifically used operating system 33. In the virtual machine 32, thecontrol software 2 runs and accesses, via a first communication standard61, virtual hardware 31 as if it were the field device 101. Theindustrial PC 30 forms, with the external interface 4 and the innerlayers 31, 32, 33, and 34, the execution environment 3 for the controlsoftware 2.

The switching unit 5 converts the data traffic from and to the virtualhardware 31 to the second communication standard 62, which is applicablewithin the network 41 of the industrial installation 100. The connectionto the network 41 is established via the external interface 4. Thenetwork 41 is an Ethernet network with shared medium 42.

The data traffic between the external interface 4 of the industrial PC30 and the first interface 71 of the gateway 7 is packet-switched viathe network. The connection to the field device 101 is provided via thesecond interface 72 of the gateway 7 according to a third communicationstandard 63. The gateway 7 is designed to continuously monitor ameasured value 102 supplied by the field device 101 and to send an event103 via the first interface 71 to the human-machine interface 43 of theindustrial installation 100 when a predetermined criterion 102 a exists.Via the human-machine interface 43, the gateway 7 and the field device101 can also be directly operated remotely if the industrial PC 30 isnot running.

The gateway 7 forms, together with the execution environment 3, theplatform 1 for actuating the field device 101. In addition to theindustrial PC 30, the human-machine interface 43, and the gateway 7, asubstitute I/O system 104 and a further control unit 105 are connectedto the network 41.

In comparison, FIG. 2 shows the structure of a further control unit 105,and the connection of this control unit 105 to the field device 101 andto the network 41 according to the prior art. The control software 2runs in an execution environment 105 a, which in turn runs on anoperating system 105 b and uses proprietary hardware drivers 105 c. Theoperating system 105 b and the hardware drivers 105 c access theproprietary hardware 105 d, which comprises a first interface 105 e forcommunication with the field device 101 via the first communicationstandard 61 and a second interface 105 f for connection to the network41, in which the second communication standard 62 is applicable.

In contrast to FIG. 1, the various components of the control unit 105build on one another and interact, but are not abstracted from oneanother and encapsulated. Any change in the hardware 105 d necessitatesa change in the hardware drivers 105 c. Changing the hardware 105 d to anew hardware architecture, at the latest, also necessitates changes tothe operating system 105 b. The modified hardware drivers 105 c make itnecessary to adapt the control software 2 that accesses these hardwaredrivers 105 c. A change of the operating system 105 b due to the changeof the hardware architecture involves further changes to the controlsoftware 2 and the execution environment 105 a on which this controlsoftware 2 runs.

While the invention has been illustrated and described in detail in thedrawings and foregoing description, such illustration and descriptionare to be considered illustrative or exemplary and not restrictive. Itwill be understood that changes and modifications may be made by thoseof ordinary skill within the scope of the following claims. Inparticular, the present invention covers further embodiments with anycombination of features from different embodiments described above andbelow. Additionally, statements made herein characterizing the inventionrefer to an embodiment of the invention and not necessarily allembodiments.

The terms used in the claims should be construed to have the broadestreasonable interpretation consistent with the foregoing description. Forexample, the use of the article “a” or “the” in introducing an elementshould not be interpreted as being exclusive of a plurality of elements.Likewise, the recitation of “or” should be interpreted as beinginclusive, such that the recitation of “A or B” is not exclusive of “Aand B,” unless it is clear from the context or the foregoing descriptionthat only one of A and B is intended. Further, the recitation of “atleast one of A, B and C” should be interpreted as one or more of a groupof elements consisting of A, B and C, and should not be interpreted asrequiring at least one of each of the listed elements A, B and C,regardless of whether A, B and C are related as categories or otherwise.Moreover, the recitation of “A, B and/or C” or “at least one of A, B orC” should be interpreted as including any singular entity from thelisted elements, e.g., A, any subset from the listed elements, e.g., Aand B, or the entire list of elements A, B and C.

LIST OF REFERENCE NUMBERS

-   1 Platform-   2 Control software-   3 Execution environment-   30 Physical hardware for execution environment 3-   31 Virtual hardware in virtual machine 32-   32 Virtual machine running on operating system 33-   33 Operating system running on hardware 30-   34 Additional abstraction layer for operating system 33-   4 External interface-   41 Network of industrial installation 100-   42 Shared medium of network 41-   43 Human-machine interface of industrial installation 100-   5 Switching unit-   61, 62, 63 Communication standards-   7 Gateway-   71, 72 Interfaces of the gateway 7-   100 Industrial installation-   101 Field device-   102 Measured value from field device 101-   102 a Criterion for measured value 102-   103 Event triggered according to criterion 102 a-   104 Substitute I/O system-   105 Further control unit-   105 a Execution environment in the control unit 105-   105 b Operating system of the control unit 105-   105 c Proprietary hardware drivers of the control unit 105-   105 d Proprietary hardware of the control unit 105-   105 e, 104 f Network interface of the control unit 105

What is claimed is:
 1. A platform for actuation of at least oneindustrial field device in an industrial installation having controlsoftware, comprising: an execution environment, in which the controlsoftware is runnable; and an external interface configured tocommunicate between the control software and the at least one industrialfield device, wherein the execution environment has virtual hardwarewhich, from a point of view of the control software, behaves in a mannerof the at least one industrial field device, wherein a switching unit isconnected between the virtual hardware and the external interface, theswitching unit being configured to bidirectionally translate data,interchanged between the control software and the virtual hardware, forcommunication with the at least one industrial field device via theexternal interface wherein the execution environment is specific to atype of control unit for which the control software was written, whereinthe virtual hardware is specific to an actuated industrial field deviceof the at least one industrial field device, and wherein the switchingunit is specific to a combination of the actuated field device and acommunication standard used for connection via the external interface,but is independent of the type of control unit for which the controlsoftware was written.
 2. The platform according to claim 1, wherein theexecution environment comprises a virtual machine which in turn runs onhardware in a manner mediated by an operating system.
 3. The platformaccording to claim 1, wherein the virtual hardware, the switching unit,and/or the virtual machine interact with the operating system via anadditional abstraction layer.
 4. The platform according to claim 1,wherein the execution environment is configured to execute controlsoftware present in a standardized language according to IEC 61131-3 orin a proprietary control program language.
 5. The platform according toclaim 1, further comprising an additional gateway which is connected tothe external interface via a first interface and to the at least oneindustrial field device via a second interface.
 6. The platformaccording to claim 5, wherein the gateway is configured tobidirectionally translate between a communication standard of theexternal interface and a communication standard of the field device. 7.The platform according to claim 5, wherein the first interface and theexternal interface are connected via a network to a shared communicationmedium.
 8. The platform according to claim 7, wherein the gateway isconfigured to monitor at least one measured value determined by thedesigned field device and to communicate an event via the network whenthe at least one measured value meets a predetermined criterion.
 9. Theplatform according to claim 7, wherein the gateway is configured tobidirectionally communicate, via the network, with a human-machineinterface.
 10. The platform according to claim 5, wherein the gatewaycomprises an automation technology control unit configured as a gatewayby modifying a firmware thereof to its specific functionality.
 11. Theplatform according to claim 2, wherein the execution environment and thegateway mediated by a same operating system run on the same hardware.12. The platform according to claim 2, wherein the hardware comprises anindustrial PC, an automation technology control unit, or a programmablelogic controller.
 13. The platform according to claim 2, wherein theoperating system is real-time-capable.
 14. A computer program productcontaining machine-readable instructions which, if executed on acomputer, a control unit, or other hardware, give the computer, thecontrol unit, or the other hardware the functionality of the platformaccording to claim
 1. 15. A computer program product containingmachine-readable instructions which, if executed on a computer, acontrol unit, or other hardware, give the computer, the control unit, orthe other hardware the functionality of the platform according to claim1 and the functionality of a gateway contained therein.
 16. A computerprogram product containing machine-readable instructions which, ifexecuted on a computer, a control unit, or other hardware, give thecomputer, the control unit, or the other hardware the functionality ofthe platform according to claim 1 or the functionality of a gatewaycontained therein.
 17. The platform according to claim 4, wherein theproprietary control program language comprises ASEA Master ProgrammingLanguage or Taylor Control Language.